


Others

by MoxysChickenScratch



Category: Septiishu - Fandom, Wiishu - Fandom, jacksepticeye
Genre: AU, Anxiety, Bipolar Disorder, Depression, Dissociative Identity Disorder, F/M, Gen, Mental Health Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-03
Updated: 2019-01-07
Packaged: 2019-01-28 17:37:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 12,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12611836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoxysChickenScratch/pseuds/MoxysChickenScratch
Summary: He blinked open his eyes and stared up at the ceiling above him. The feeling in his limbs slowly returned and he clenched his hand into a fist and released it soon after. A piercing headache formed as he tried to sit up and he pressed his hand to his temple to try and suppress it. His bright blue eyes squeezed shut when the back of his eyes grew sore. Then he heard the crying, the sobbing from another room. He stood up and followed the sound.He stepped into his bedroom and spotted his girlfriend on the ground, cowering away from the door.“Signe!” he quavered, stepping forward. But she whimpered, causing him to step back as the headache began to reform, growing worse by the second.“Did he hurt you…”She nodded.“He threatened to kill me.”





	1. Check-In

He stared up at the ceiling. The lights were on but the farther away things were, the harder they were to see. He turned and picked up his glasses off of the bedside table and put them on. The room he was in was white, only the bedside table with a lamp on top, of course the bed, and a desk opposite him as he hung his legs over the edge of his mattress.

The voices in the back of his head swelled for a moment, but he didn’t seem to notice. They were talking about random things, laughing as they joked to each other. One of them told stories about his kids, another spoke about his adventures in the hospital emergency room. Most of the time he would sit and listen to them and laugh along with them, but he didn’t this time. He was too preoccupied with his own thoughts; with his own worries.

He hadn’t even been in the mental hospital for a full day. He got there last night and since the doctors had all left, he was admitted to a room after he said goodbye to his girlfriend and went to bed. One of the doctors was supposed to come in after he woke up. Dr. Anderson or something like that? He couldn’t remember.

He shifted his eyes to the floor, messing with the hem of his white shirt he was given the day prior, beginning to think about that day.

Signe hadn’t told him everything. She only said that _he_ threatened to kill her. He shivered at the thought of _him_. _He_ didn’t talk much inside his head, but that’s what scared him the most. That meant _he_ was planning something; planning to come out, hurt somebody or hurt the body he had taken control of. He shivered at the thought of losing control of his body, fearing for the day that _he_ would force him to watch what his body did, which was out of his control. He squeezed his eyes shut at the mere thought of watching his girlfriend be terrified as she stared into his eyes.

The door to his right clicked and his head shot up to see who it was. It was a woman. She wore the typical doctor attire which went nicely with her short blonde hair and brown eyes. She was carrying a clipboard and a pen was flipped around in her other hand. “Hello,” she said as she paused to look at her clipboard. “...Seán McLoughlin. How’re you feeling?”

“Compared to the headache I had a few days ago, I’d say I’m perfect. But seeing as I’m here, that’s not the case.”

The woman’s brows furrowed, but she shook away any thoughts she was having, turned the chair around that was situated at the desk, and sat across from the irishman. Seán brushed his bright green and quickly fading hair out of his bright blue eyes. “I’m Dr. Allen, but feel free to call me Megan.”

Damn. He got the first and last letter of her last name correct, but everything else was so far off, it was a mile away.

“Do me a favor and call me Jack.”

“And why do you prefer that name? It seems so far off from Seán.”

“Because I feel like I haven’t been Seán for a long time. There are just so many contradicting thoughts in my head telling me what to do that I just don’t feel like my original self anymore. Jack just seems more accurate. And I answer to it already, seeing as a lot of my friends and family call me that anyway.”

Megan nodded and scribbled something down on her clipboard. “So it says here that you’re here because of multiple personalities?”

Jack nodded.

“Could you tell me a bit about that?”

“You’re gonna need to be a bit more specific than that.”

“What are their names, how do they act, what happens when they take control, when did they first come to light?”

Jack sighed and tilted his head a bit. “Well even that specific, it’s still a bit complicated. There’s only a long answer.”

“We have time.”

“Well, we have Marvin the Magnificent. He’s a bad magician and practices his tricks all the time. Jackieboy Man, a mediocre superhero who wears a red morph suit and a blue mask. Dr. Schneeplestein who works in the ER at the hospital; He’s not very good at his job. And then there’s Chase Brody. He does random trick shots, wears a baseball cap, and is always trying to spend time with his kids much to his wife’s dismay.”

Megan sits there and stares at Jack for a bit. He only bites his lip and stares at the ground. Finally, she shakes her head, writes down some information on the clipboard, and looks back up at him. She looked like she was about to say something, opening her mouth, but closed it again as she thought against it.

Jack sucked his lips into his mouth and formed a thin line as the awkward silence persisted. Megan was so deep in thought that Jack had to wave his hand in front of her face to get her attention. “Hello?~ Anybody there?”

“Oh, sorry. Uh, that should be good for now. Go ahead and brush your teeth. The other patients should already be out and eating breakfast. Go join them, make some friends, and I’ll talk to you again around lunch time.”

 

Nobody took control as he was eating breakfast, so that was good. It’d be really weird to randomly change how he acted with them not knowing what his condition was in its entirety. Even he didn’t know the full scale of it at the moment. But hey, what can you do? He made some friends, most of which only dealing with heightened anxiety and depression. There was a schizophrenia incident, but it didn’t last long and the person didn’t need to leave the room.

Jack sat at the table with four new friends, one of which had to go somewhere due to a private session with one of the doctors or something like that. Chase got super excited at that moment and screamed “goodbye!” in his head as the guy left, and it was loud enough to make him forget why the guy had to leave in the first place. He had to recover for a moment, earning some worried glances and questions from the other three, but he easily waved them off.

Lara, to his left, sat in a white gown. It was like a mix between what Jack was wearing and a normal white dress. She was wearing some white leggings with it though. Probably to prevent her from accidently showing more than she meant. She had brown pixie-cut hair with natural gold strands setting up shop between the darker brown. She had beautiful, and rare, pure green eyes. Not hazel, but actually a bright green. She was dealing with anxiety and bipolar disorder.

Brandon was straight ahead, slightly longer blonde hair falling in front of his heterochromic hazel and blue eyes; his left being hazel and his right blue. He didn’t talk much but from what Jack could tell, he had anxiety and depression with bipolar tendencies. All he knew about his past is that his ex-girlfriend admitted him here and totally ditched him. Jack didn’t know the reason, but he wanted to trust that it was good enough to just leave him behind and try to forget about him.

Willow was to Jack’s right. She had long dirty-blonde hair that hung down past her waist that was normally pulled up into a braid. She had brown eyes and acne covered her face and freckles accompanied the larger red spots, spreading down across her arms. She had depression and the ghost of a noose around her neck stuck out like a sore thumb in the sea of her tan skin. He thought best not to mention it.

Jack looked down at his lap where his hands were folded and began to follow the edges of his Bloodborne tattoo with his index finger as he lost his appetite and tried to avoid the plate of leftover toast and granola in front of him.

_I wonder what Signe is doing right now? How’s she feeling? Does she miss me?_

_“Try not to vorry about her right now. Focus on getting through zis and taking care of… him and we’ll be just fine.”_

_Thanks Schneep._

“Hey, Jack? You there buddy?”

Jack snapped his head up and turned towards Lara who stared at him, hand slightly raised as she had waved her hand in front of his face to try and get his attention.

“Oh, sorry. Schneep was talking to me. I’m fine.”

Brandon looked up and tilted his head. “Who the hell is Schneep?”

“Dr. Schneeplestein. He’s one of my different personalities. German ER doctor.” Jack replied.

Lara chuckled. “That’s some personality. What was he saying?”

“It’s not important.”

Willow softly punched him playfully in the arm. “Aw come on! Fill us in on this guy! If there’s a chance he’ll come out eventually, I wanna know what he’s like!”

“Guys, if he doesn’t want to tell you, then leave him be.” Brandon defended, earning a thankful sigh from Jack.

“You’ll get to know him when you meet him, because I know he’ll come out eventually. Just not right now.”

_“But I vant to come out now! I vant to talk to Lara!”_

_Schneep no._

_“Schneep yes.”_

The three of them talked for a while longer before it was time to go to group session. Jack was only joined by Willow, to which Marvin had taken a liking to, and they headed off towards a collection of rooms down a hallway. Marvin was getting very excited, knowing Jack would be around Willow a little while longer, and Jack thought he might come out during the session.

Marvin never did, mostly because the session bored him out more than anything. Jack said his name - his preferred name - and told what condition he had. There were a few soft gasps because, somehow, these people had never met anybody with Dissociative Identity Disorder, but then again that was out of Jack’s control. Afterwards, Jack had the choice to either go into free time with everybody else or to just hang out in his room until Megan came in to check on him before lunch.

He decided to just hang out in his room until Megan came. All the talking and all the excited emotions that everyone was emitting in his head was becoming too much for him to handle. If he went on any longer, than he’d begin to have a migraine. And whenever that happened…

It was never good.


	2. Chase Brody

Jack was sitting at his desk, writing down what everybody was saying when Megan walked in. The click of the doorknob was almost so quiet Jack almost didn’t notice the slightly opening door to what Jack had started referring to as a “padded cell.” Brought him memories of his recording room, which, depending on his feelings at the time, brought him either happiness or sadness. He turned towards the doctor and gave a soft smile.

Megan smiled in return and sat down on Jack’s bed as he turned his stationary wooden chair around. God, he missed his recording room, his recording setup, his spinning chair.

“How’s your day been so far Se- Jack?” she asked.

Jack shrugged. “Made some friends, ate some food, listened to Schneep gush over Lara, nothing out of the ordinary.”

Megan blinked silently at Jack, probably processing that last detail.

“Nothing out of the ordinary for me anyway.”

Megan shook her head and chuckled, looking down at her clipboard rested in her lap. “This is Schneeplestein?” Jack nodded. “What was he saying?”

“He literally just wants to come out and talk to her for a bit. He’s totally harmless.” He paused. “Most of the time.”

“Can you elaborate?”

“He once had control for long enough to buy a few scalpels and now whenever he comes out he fidgets with them in his hands and swings them around everywhere. He’s a very twitchy man.”

Megan nodded, looking down and writing things onto her clipboard, not noticing Jack’s attitude suddenly change. He swung his legs up and sat criss-cross-applesauce on the chair and propped his head up on his hands, leaning on his knees with a big grin on his face, admiring Megan’s handwriting from what he could see.

Megan looked up and brushed her hair out of her face, showing more of her seemingly glowing brown eyes. Jack widened his eyes and leaned back slightly.

“Your eyes are beautiful.” he stated plainly.

Megan seemed taken aback by this, a blush warming her cheeks. “Excuse me?”

Jack blinked once, head tilted in confusion. “Uh…” He looked down at his own hands, squeezed them into fists, and releasing them. “Oh. Did not mean to do that.”

His tone of voice had changed, seeming cheerier and more childlike. But he had a look in his eyes that showed a darker side to the brighter personality that had stepped forth.

“Jack?”

He looked up and shook his head. “Nope! Sorry, not here at the moment. I’m Chase. Chase Brody.” He gave a slight wave.

Megan leaned back, nearing the point of falling over. That was a sudden change.

“Well, hi Chase!”

“Hallooo!” He gave a cheery wave and put on the mask of a cheeky smile. His hands subconsciously messed with the hem of his white shirt.

“Are you nervous? Anxious? You seem pretty fidgety.”

Chase blinked for a moment. He shrunk back, trying to make himself smaller, trying to hide the shiver running up, down his spine and throughout the rest of his body. “I’d rather not talk about it.”

That was a mood change. Maybe this personality had some sort of Bipolar Disorder? Megan decided to write that down with a question mark. Before she could ask any more questions, Chase’s head lolled to the side and his eyes rolled into the back of his head. He swayed slightly and sat up straight again, taking on Jack’s demeanor again.

“Sorry about that. Chase just sorta takes control sometimes.”

Megan waved him off. “Don’t worry about it. These things happen to people with your condition.”

_You don’t know the half of it…_

There was a small whimper and a few hushes and reassuring words inside Jack’s head, and he had to pause to try and hear the words. Megan began to talk, but Jack held up a finger.

_“Chase she didn’t know. It was an innocent question.”_ Marvin.

_“Yes. She meant no harm to you, Brody.”_ Schneep.

Sniffles and a soft _“yeah…”_ from Chase.

“Aw, you upset Chase…”

“Oh god I’m sorry. What did I say?”

“He’s very subconscious of how nervous and anxious he looks all the time. And he’s sort of always reminded of what he’s done in the past so you really need to be careful around him.”

“What’s he done in the past?”

“It’s not my place to tell that story. You’ll have to get it from him.”

Megan nodded slowly and made a note to ask Chase about it when he came out again. “Well, it’s just about time for lunch so you should head out to the common room. Lara and Willow should be out there already and Brandon might still be in counseling. It takes him a while but he should be done soon.”

They exchanged waves and Megan lead him out the door. Chase’s whimpers had died down and he was talking softly with Jackieboy Man(JB cause I’m not typing that whole thing all the time).

Megan left him in the entrance and walked away, leaving him to search for the two girls whom he spotted waving him over from a corner table next to a window. He jogged over and took a seat across from them.

“Hi Jack!” Lara exclaimed.

Willow leaned forward onto the table with a raised eyebrow. “Why’d you spend free time in your room? It must’ve been pretty boring in there.”

Jack shook his head and placed a finger to his temple. “Not with four other voices in your head. I like to listen to their conversations sometimes. Keeps me sane, in a weird sort of way. And if I had spent any more time with people then I would have gotten a migraine, and they are not fun. Believe me.”

_Especially for me…_

_“Stop thinking about it. You’ll just make it worse.”_ Marvin whispered.

Jack bit his lip and closed his eyes for a moment, trying to suppress his rising anxiety and just enjoy his time with Willow and Lara.

“Hey guys! Howzit hangin’?”

Jack turned his attention towards the voice and spotted Alan. He had a muscular build that showed through the long sleeved shirt he wore. Jack didn’t want to ask why it was long-sleeved, seeing as everybody else wore short sleeves. It might’ve been because he did self-harm before he came here, but Jack hated to dwell on it because that would lead him to accidentally asking out of nowhere. He had heard that Alan was happier than usual, always putting on a bright, genuine smile instead of wearing the mask of one over his depression. He’d probably be heading home soon.

Flipping his brown hair to the side and brown eyes sparkling, he sat down to Jack’s left. “Is Brandon not done with counseling yet?”

Jack shook his head. “Probably not, no. But he should be done soo-”

“Hey guys.”

Jack turned and saw Brandon behind him. “Hey! Speak of the devil!”

He took a spot on Jack’s right. “Hey Jack.” he murmured, earning a small wave in return.

“How’s your day been so far Jack? Any news from the good ol’ voices in your head?” Alan asked, giving him a small punch to the arm.

Jack cradled his arm and chuckled, mocking pain. “Oh nooooo. My arm. I’s brok’n.” he complained, leaning away from Alan and putting some weight on Brandon who playfully pushed him off. Lara and Willow crossed their arms from across the table, shaking their heads.

Willow tsked. “Boys gotta be boys.”

Lara scoffed. “I know, right?”

Brandon raised a finger. “Petition to let boys be boys without being judged by others.” he called throughout the common room. All the guys in the room then stood up and raised Hunger Games Rebellion symbols. A few whistled the song. Some girls laughed, others whispered to the guys to just sit down, and then there was Lara and Willow, facepalming and softly banging their heads against the table. Afterwards, everything went back to business as usual.

_“Hey Jack. You should let me talk to them.”_

_Schneep we’ve talked about this._

_“Come on! Just five minutes! Nothing vill happen. Just friendly chatting!”_

Jack sighed out loud and held his head in his hands.

“What?” Willow asked.

“Dr. Schneeplestein wants to talk to you guys but I’m really reluctant about it.”

Alan tilted his head. Lara filled him in, “He’s one of Jack’s different personalities. German ER doctor, correct?”

Jack nodded.

“Hey, what’s the worst that could happen?” Lara asked.

“Okay, you know what? If I don’t let him he’ll never let it go.”

“Oh cool. So you can just control- ?”

Willow stopped mid-sentence as Jack’s posture improved and he began straightening his clothes.

“Vell, Jack is very stiff.” Schneep said, giving a small smile.


	3. Schneep and Someone New?

“Vhat? You are all looking at me as if I am a madman. I assure you, I am not.” Schneep’s german accent had a hint of irish that leaked through every once in awhile.

Willow and Lara glanced between each other while Brandon held a shocked expression and Alan’s mouth opened and closed, looking for words. Schneep looked between all of them. “Come on. It’s not zat surprising is it?”

_“Schneep, give them a second. It’s a bit overwhelming.”_

_Zhey are overreacting, Jack._

_“Alan’s about to say shit so listen.”_

“It’s, um, a bit… overwhelming.”

_“Told you.”_

“Okay mister, you need to be quiet.” Schneep scolded, looking up at the ceiling and pressing a finger to his temple.

“Okay, jeez, sorry man.” Alan held up his hands.

“Oh, no no no. Not you. I vas speaking vith Jack.”

Alan blinked and then turned to Lara, mouthing ‘help me.’

Lara reached forward and placed her hand in the center of the table. “Has Dr. Allen met you?” she asked, changing the subject.

“No, she has not. She has met Chase though.” Schneep held up his hands. “But zat’s enough about me. How about you, m’lady?” He shot a smug look in Lara’s direction, making her blush.

“I-I mean, there’s not much to tell.” Lara’s face changed, her brow furrowing as she slowly pulled her hand away. “Maybe you should stop being so pushy.” she growled softly.

Schneep tilted his head and his eyes widened for a moment. He grabbed his own wrist and looked at the imaginary watched wrapped around it. “Oh wow, look at the time, I must go.” He went limp for a moment and he almost fell over backwards in the chair, flailing a bit before Alen and Brandon managed to grab him and pull him forward. He grabbed his head, blinking and trying to figure out what the hell just happened.

_“I forgot she has bipolar.”_

“Um, Lara have you taken your pills today?” Jack asked, trying to keep his growing headache at bay.

Ow, shit…

_“Oh Jesus, Jack I’m so sorry did I do zat?”_

_“Oh god he’s coming.”_

_“Chase come on no he’s not, we’re fine.”_

_“He’s coming and they’re gonna get hurt…”_

_“At this rate he really is.”_

_“Jack get out we need to collect ourselves.”_

He asked Lara the question, but he never heard her answer. His head was too loud and the headache was growing into a migraine. He gripped his head between his hands, pressing harder and harder with every second, tears pricking the corners of his eyes.

_He’s coming. He’s coming. Fucking get out he’s coming. Shut up shut up SHUT UP!_

Everything after that was black, everything around him shrinking away into a void of nothingness.

 

Jack forced air into his lungs, sweat dripping from his hairline as he sat up in his bed. He looked around; at the walls, the ceiling, the items in the room, like he had never seen them before.

Maybe he hadn’t?

He tried to move his hand, but it came to an abrupt stop with the clinking chains of a pair of handcuffs. He looked down at them, fiddling with the metal and tugging lightly. He was handcuffed to the bed.

His head was silent, but he knew that there were others panicking and trying to figure something out. Why something had happened, perhaps? They were saying something about who some guy was, but Jack merely shrugged it off as the door clicked open.

Megan peeked inside with a strange look in her eye. Her eyebrows were raised and there was a slight tremble in her hand. “Jack?” She sounded as if she was trying to keep her cool. By the twitching in her fingers, Jack could tell that she wanted to leave and never come back. Frankly, Jack didn’t know what she was so scared about.

Jack blinked, trying to figure out who this woman was, and how he knew her name. She was wearing the attire a doctor would wear: the stereotypical jacket, baby blue clothes, Vans sneakers, though the only thing he didn’t see as doctor-like was the short blonde hair. It was ruffled and messy and… was that a cut on her cheek?

She came in completely, shutting the door behind her, but not before whispering something to some people waiting outside. She sat down in the desk chair across from him with a clipboard placed on her lap. She sighed, locking her hands together and squeezing tightly, probably to ease the tremble they still held.

Jack tried to speak. He opened his mouth, but no noise came out. He lifted his hand to his mouth, then to his neck. He felt around his neck and moved down his chest then to his pockets, like he would find his voice there. He pulled out the fabric that made the pockets and found nothing. Now he had Megan’s attention, although, seeing by her furrowed brow, it wasn’t filled with fear like it was before. Jack reached into his shoes, like he’d find something there. Surprise surprise, it’s a foot.

“Are… Are you alright? Are you not Jack?”

Jack looked up at her and stared into her brown eyes. That’s right, he wasn’t Jack. He was somebody else, another personality in Jack’s body.

“Why aren’t you talking?”

He paused then raised a finger to his neck, shaking his head.

“Oh, you can’t talk? That’s new, um… let’s see…” Megan picked up a piece of paper from one of the desk drawers. She gave it to Jack with a pencil. “Here. You can write your answers. You can write, can’t you?”

Jack nodded.

“Great. What’s your name?”

He scribbled his name on the paper without hesitation. He didn’t even realize what he had written until he handed it to her and she read it aloud.

“‘Jackson Daniels’? That’s a nice name. May I call you Jackson?”

Jackson nodded.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you Jackson. Do you know where you are?”

Jackson was about to write his answer on the paper, because the silent voices in his head told him, but he froze and the pencil slipped from his fingers. The paper slid off of his lap and onto the floor, his body following.

“Oh my god!”

Jackson was on the ground, his left hand still in the cuffs and raised up. They were starting to cut through the skin.

“Hey! Get in here and help me!”


	4. A Misunderstanding

Who was in control this time? Jack? Jackson? Schneep? Or had Marvin finally taken control?

He didn’t have the handcuffs on this time, thank god. But he wasn’t in his own room. He looked around at the white padded walls surrounding him. There was a single bed in the corner, sprouting from the wall. The corners and edges were rounded, to further prevent suicide perhaps?

He was on the floor with a piercing headache. He lifted his hand and watched the shivering grow and shrink, from totally still to seeming like he was having a panic attack. Everyone was silent. There wasn’t a single word from anybody, but only a slight whimper from Chase every once and awhile.

“Uhm… Guys?” he asked, glancing up at the ceiling and searching the room. He scanned the walls, the buttons that held the padding up becoming clearer the more he adjusted his glasses and stared into that particular spot.

“Chase?” he called. No answer.

“Schneep? Marvin?” The silence screamed in his ears, and now he really was beginning to panic.

He jumped and backed into the far wall when a door he had not seen opened. It closed and the figure turned around with a sigh. It was Megan.

He was starting to remember. The headache, the faint memories of him speaking with her in his room, it was all coming back.

He looked around the room in a panic, his breathing becoming uneven. The silence. It was growing louder and louder, picking at his ears until they bled. It scratched at his arms and peeled his legs, his vision grew dark. Limbs wet and sticky, he placed a hand to his forehead. His eye twitched and he let out a pain-filled chuckle.

“It’s not real it’s not real it’s not-”

He was tackled to the ground and he flailed. He kicked his legs every which way, and he hit something. It might have been the wall, but it also could have been flesh. Whatever he hit, it was soft and caved slightly when the impact was made. His arms were held and soon, so were his legs. He tried to fight a little more, but soon gave up and looked to the ceiling. It was a bit blurry. Had his glasses fallen off?

The headache swelled for a moment, then disappeared in a fraction of a second. He was left staring at the ceiling as his surroundings became clearer, the silence no longer plucking every hair from his body.

 

 

Jack sat on the bed in the padded cell. His glasses, miraculously, hadn’t been damaged or even scratched. He couldn’t say the same for his arms and legs, though…

The nurse had just finished wrapping Jack’s limbs in gauze. She took one last look into his eye, shining the bright light in front of it. Then, she left without a word. Now, Jack was left with Megan. He mentally prepared himself for the questioning he was about to have with her, though half of them he probably wouldn’t be able to answer.

“What the fuck happened, Jack?”

That one caught him off-guard, but he only winced. He didn’t utter a word. Only stared at the bandages that peeked from his new, long-sleeved shirt.

Megan drew a long sigh, folding some stray hair behind her ear. “You never told me about this strange other personality you have. Why didn’t you?”

Jack’s folded hands in his lap squeezed tighter together. They know… He squeezed his eyes shut, refusing to speak to her.

“Jack?”

_“Aw, go on, Jackaboy.~ Tell ‘er.”_

He placed both palms to his temples, trying to block that high-pitched, mocking voice that echoed in his head, silencing anyone else. It was hard to focus, hard to not pay attention to the chuckles that bombarded his ears.

Megan made a move to sit down next to the irishman and place an arm over his shoulders. “Hey, Jack, come on. You can talk to me.”

He took a deep breath. “Is the cut on your cheek my fault?” he whimpered. Tears threatened to spill from his eyes, but he held them back. Not yet…

Megan raised a subconscious hand towards the bandaid that rested where the surprisingly-deep cut was.

He could tell that she was contemplating between her only two options: tell him the truth and make him feel worse, or lie and make him feel better. It was totally obvious which one she took.

“It was an accident in the kitchen, it wasn’t your fault in any regard.”

Jack didn’t skip a beat. “Don’t fucking lie to me.”

She visibly flinched. She stumbled for words as Jack stood up and began pacing around the room.

“Jack, really, it wasn’t─”

“Don’t fucking lie to me!” he screeched, shutting her up instantly. “ _He_ did that to you. _He_ was the one that attacked everybody in the cafeteria. _He_ is the reason I’m even here in the first place!”

_____ _

Megan was speechless, too shocked to pick up her clipboard and begin writing this all down. 

_____ _

“ _He_ is terrifying. _He_ doesn’t care who gets hurt. _He_ doesn’t give a shit about anyone! _He_ only cares about H.E. _His_ Enjoyment. You want to know what defines “ _His_ Enjoyment”? _He’s_ a goddamn sadist, a manipulative bitch! You can’t FUCKING stop _him_!” 

____

Jack collapsed on the ground, bringing his legs to his chest and hugging them close, whispering “He can’t be stopped. He can’t be stopped.” 

__

Megan couldn’t move. The cut really was only a kitchen accident. The reason he was in the padded cell was because one of his other personalities got loose and was sporadic, possibly dangerous. He was removed from his room because there were too many things that could hurt him in there because it was possible he could faint at random times. The personality she was talking about before was Jackson.

__

He had unknowingly just given away the secret he was trying to keep from the very beginning.

__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Jackaboy...


	5. Return

_Schneep?_

_“Vhat is it?”_

The scientist’s voice was quiet and trembling, like he was holding tears back.

_Are you guys okay?_

_“A little vorse for vear but ve’re getting better.”_

_Don’t lie to me. You’re scared as hell. He’s up there and awake isn’t He…_

No reply.

Jack sat in the white padded room, huddled in the farthest corner from the door that didn’t have a bed in it. He picked at the hem of his sleeve, bored, contemplating. What, he wasn’t entirely sure. His mind was all over the place at this point that even he wasn’t sure what he was thinking about.

Small headaches came and went as time went by and they became more of a nuisance now than a pain that started in the back of his head and migrated slowly to his temples where they ended. Except, now there was a prolonged headache in the front of his head.

How long had it been since he slept? Jack stopped counting a long time ago, when he had lost track of time entirely. He stopped counting when one certain headache was worse than the ones before. He was in so much pain at that point, he wasn’t sure how long it lasted.

He moved to lay down on his back at a 45° angle from the 90° corner, legs raised and perpendicular to the walls corresponding to either leg, staring up at the ceiling and its single light in the center of the square room.

Jack hadn’t slept. Not a wink. He physically couldn’t. He was terrified of the nightmares, even the thought of possibly letting Him take control, whether it be on purpose or by accident, was enough to make him shiver and want to cry.

By the point Megan had walked into the room, Jack had shut his eyes, not noticing the opening door or hearing her muffled steps across the padded floor, too lost in his own mind. He was breathing deeply, legs still raised and fingers twitching every now and then.

For a while, she didn’t say anything, and neither did Jack. They just sat there, Megan listening to Jack’s breathing, how it sped up and slowed down irregularly.

Finally, Jack opened his eyes. His face held no reaction when he spotted her sitting on his bed, probably about three meters away from him. He had had the feeling like he wasn’t alone for the past ten minutes.

“Go on. Say it. I’m crazy.” he droned, shifting his vision so he made eye-contact with her.

She didn’t reply for a few moments.

“What the hell were you talking about before?”

His lips curled back slightly, hinting at a snarl. “You know what the fuck I was talking about. You talked about _Him_.”

“I was talking about Jackson before. I have no clue what you were talking about.”

The news hit him in the face like a truck. No, not any old truck, and it wasn’t even one. It was three semi-trucks heading straight for his face and SMACK. There’s the newspaper, the front page reading “Jack Fucked Up Big Time” of the newspaper “SepticEye Weekly.”

Jack covered his face with his hands, letting out a silent, breathy groan. He sat up cross-legged and pressed the top of his head into the corner he was now facing, listening.

Silence. Endless silence. The terrifying quiet that never occurred. He couldn’t hear a damn thing except for Megan trying to speak to him.

“-to help you. Jack, are you listening?”

Jack didn’t respond. He was afraid to. He didn’t want to give away any more information accidentally.

“I want to help you, but I can’t if yo-”

“It’s quiet…”

Megan paused, probably processing what Jack said. “W-... What?”

“It’s quiet. It’s never quiet. There’s always someone talking up in me noggin.” His irish accent stood out more. Out of sight of the doctor, Jack smiled and almost chuckled, his body shook but no noise came out. His smile disappeared before he stood up and turned to her.

“I’m fine. I haven’t passed out, I’m not a danger to anyone.”

Megan twisted her head away from him skeptically. “Are you sure… because this guy you keep talking about seems like he really scares you.”

Jack gulped, thinking for an answer. “He’s not here and hasn’t been here for years. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“Well, I’ll leave it up to the other doctors. I’ll talk to them about getting you out of here and to your room.”

With that Megan left Jack alone in his room.

There was a small whimper in his head. Probably Chase.

 

 

Jack lay on his bed in his room again, away from the white padded room. The desk, chair, bed, even the pencils on the desk seemed to have not moved at all. But to him, it seemed totally foreign. Maybe that’s because he’s been away from the room for so long.

He wasn’t allowed to leave his room quite yet. Breakfast had started already, but another doctor wanted to do and analysis of him before he joined gen pop again. Jack didn’t know when until the man opened the door.

He wore the blue scrubs like Megan did and his white coat looked like it was a bit too big for him. He looked to be in his mid-30s, bags under his eyes showed that he had been here all night. He was probably going to go home after this. He had dull blue eyes that looked brown compared to Jack’s bright blue. He was wearing green sneakers that went surprisingly well with his shoulder-length brunette hair.

“Hello, I’m Doctor Quinn.”

“Wassup Doc?”

Dr. Quinn gave him a knowing look, but didn’t seem amused. He pulled the chair from the desk and sat down, looking over the paper he had clipped to his clipboard with his pen lightly pressed to his teeth.

Ugh, this guy’s lame.

No response. Still not normal.

“Headaches?”

“Gone.”

“Arms?”

“A little sore.”

He scribbled on his clipboard for a few seconds.

“Voices?”

“Silent.”

He looked up from the clipboard for a moment before Jack added, “Other than the occasional whine.”

Dr. Quinn let out an annoyed sigh before scribbling on his clipboard more. He stood up and gestured for Jack to follow him.

They made their way to the cafeteria where everybody was.

For a moment, a smirk was placed on his lips. But it was pulled away immediately.


	6. Scars

It’d been a week since Jack had gotten out of that white room. And it was a good thing too. He seemed much more sane outside of that room than inside. He was always smiling now. Sure, Lara, Willow, Alan, and Brandon were worried about him at first, but who could blame them? He had been in that white padded room for four days. That can really take a toll on your sanity. But once they saw that he was fine, they stopped pressing him for answers.

Which was true. JAck wasn’t feeling the affects of the white room anymore. It’d be bad if he still was.

He sat at the table in the common area, paper plates stacked in the center with remnants of food left over; A bad grape, crumbs from a muffin, bits and pieces of scrambled eggs, nothing worth eating now. Jack had lost track of the argument Lara was having with Alan. Something about their conditions. Jack was pretty happy he had zoned out of that topic of interest because Willow and Brandon looked pretty uNcomfortable. Jack’s slight ADD was a gift with that situation.

“Jack! Back me up here!”

Jack leaped into the air, his hands that were placed on his lap under the table slamming into the underside of it, forming a painful red line on his wrists. “Ah, shit!” He didn’t even know who brought him out of his mind palace.

When he turned towards where he heard the voice, he saw Alan staring back at him, brown eyes clouded with rage, genuine rage. His teeth were clenched and his hands were closed over the edge of the table so tight, it looked as if he might take a chunk out of it.

Jack raised up his hands. “What, help you with what!?” The words spill out of his mouth before he can think.

“Tell her to stay out of my business!” Alan answered.

“I will if you’ll leave me the fuck alone! Where are you to tell me what to do?” Lara growled, also turning to Jack to ask him to back her up.

Jack tucked his arms closer to his body and hugged himself, trying to seem smaller. With a twiTching finger, he turned towards Brandon and Willow to help him out here.

“Don’t get them to help! This doesn’t concern them!” Lara snapped.

“Hey, this doesn’t involve Jack either!” Willow intervened. “Where are your places to bring Jack into this situation? We all have problems, everybody here does!” Willow turned her rant to Alan. “You think your condition is exclusively your problem, but the four of us care about you, despite what that dumbass brain tells you. Your depression is our problem as well, none of us want to lose you, so if you’re feeling you’re getting, worse, tell one of the fucking doctors.”

“Ha!” Lara exclaimed triumphantly.

“And you, Lara!”

Lara blinked in Willow’s direction, eye’s giving a questioning stare. _What did I do?_ they said.

“The only reason this argument started is because you snapped first! And it only got worse when Alan stated the fact that you haven’t been taking your medication. I’m saying to you what I said to Alan. We care about you, and we don’t want you doing this to yourself. Take your GODDAMN medication!”

Willow sat down with a huff, focusing on her breathing. Everybody was silent. In fact, the entire room was silent, and it stayed that way for a solid thirty seconds before everyone in the surrounding area went back to their conversations, though this time they were a little quieter so they could see what happened next.

There was a sharp stinging in Jack’s left forearm and the feeling of liquid dripping onto his hand was unmistakable. Jack looked down and saw a fresh red spot on his long-sleeved shirt. He pulled it up slightly, trying to hIde his scars, to see what was happening, and sure enough, there was another cut. The situation from before probably heightened his anxiety and he scratched at his arms without realizing it. Right now, all Jack knew was that it was painful. How deep had he scratched? The blood was coming out quickly.

“Jack oh my god!”

Jack jumped again, turning to face Brandon who was eyeing the bad cut on his arm. He stood up to get napkins while Alan turned his attention to Jack’s injury as well. “Oh god!” He stood up to get a doctor. Lara and Willow climbed around the table just as Brandon was returning with a handful of napkins.

Through the pain, Jack forgot about his healed scars as he pulled up his sleeve, grabbed the napkins and pressed them to to opening. No words were spoken after that, and Jack didn’t know why for a moment, and then he remembered and pulled his sleeve back down, keeping the napkins underneath the fabric and holding the pressure.

“Jack…”

He squeezed his eyes shut. He knew that voice. That worrying voice that had a demanding undertone to it. It didn’t scare him normally, but this time it was terrifying and it sent a chill down his spine. He didn’t reply.

“Jack, pull your sleeve back up.”

He knew better than to argue. With Willow’s temper, especially after that argument, there was no stopping her. He pulled his currently uninjured sleeve up first, and then the one that was getting almost soaked in blood. Jack never really got a good look at them, but that was probably because his breath hitched in his throat every time he caught even a glimpse of them.

The scars started out thicker when they were nearing his elbows, then thinned out as they grew closer to his wrist, though they never reached that far. Some were short and smooth, the results of his quick, panicked scratches while others were long and ragged. They zigzagged, created sine waves down his arm. The newest scratch in his arm would join the group of short and long, as Jack had just started to distinguish them.

He shut his eyes, unable to look at them for a longer period of time without wanting to puke. Then he felt the sleeves go back down, and when he opened his eyes he saw Willow sliding the cloth back over the scars. He looked up at her, and she held a sympathetic stare with him for a moment before moving to cover his left arm and the napkins in the other sleeve.

_“Pity… Pity pity pity… I hate PITY.”_

The screaming voice was hard to ignore. But he forced himself to push the worried thoughts away as doctors took care of him, taking him back to his room and properly taking care of the cut that would be the new addition to his collection of scars.


	7. Remember

Jack joined the group session later on with a new, not bloodstained shirt. A few people had been checked out, so it was smaller than when he first got to the hospital. But he felt more self-conscious than the first time he came into this room. With the events of earlier that day and the fact he was late this time just made it worse. Everybody stared at him, questioning why he was late. Only Willow gave a sympathetic smile and patted the seat next to her where he usually sat.

He sat down, but he still couldn’t shake the stares and glances of the other people in the group. As much as he tried to ignore it, he couldn’t take his mind off of them.

He chose not to talk about what happened.

Jack and Willow met up with Lara, Brandon, and Alan in the common room. There were people who weren’t admitted into the hospital that were speaking with the patients, and that’s when he realized he hadn’t been available for visiting hours.

They were weekly because this hospital was where the worse patients were housed. The doctors needed a lot of time to watch everybody. As far as Jack knew, nobody had come to visit him last week. And it was a good thing too, since he was stuck in that damn white room.

Since he doubted that anybody would come to visit him today, Jack sat down at a normal table with his friends. He was chatting with them, but none of them managed to get him to crack a smile.

He suddenly felt a painful hiccup erupt from his throat and it stopped whatever conversation they were having. He coughed for a while, and sat straight back up at the table, one hand placed over his chest. “I’m good, ’m fine, don’ worry ‘bout it.”

“Jesus, Jack, you scared me for a second.” Willow chuckled.

He blinked for a moment, confused. He rubbed his eyes, trying to remember.

Remember… Remember what? What had he forgotten?

How did he get out here?

“Hey, Jack?”

He turned towards Brandon.

“You okay?”

Jack had to think about that for a moment. “Yeah, um… I think? I just…” He paused. “There’s some blanks in my memory. A few blurs…”

They shared a few glances. Then Lara spoke. “What’s the last clear thing you remember?”

“The… The-The white padded room.”

“Dude, that was a week ago. That’s really the last thing you remember?”

“Do you not remember the fight earlier today? Your arm?”

Jack sat still for a moment, then looked down at his sleeved arms. _When did I get long sleeves?_ His left one felt a little sore, and when he pulled the sleeves back, he saw the bandages. He spotted a hint of the scars and yanked the sleeve back down. “Ooohhh jesus…”

“You need to tell Dr. Allen about that, like, right now.” Willow stated.

“Not before he greets me.”

Jack spun around. There stood Signe. Short, very dark brown hair, dull green eyes, her black trenchcoat placed loosely over her shoulders like she thought about taking it off but decided it was still too cold. Jack didn’t wait a second when he sprang up and hugged her. He shut his eyes with his chin in the middle of her head and her face tucked into his shoulder. He could hear her trying to hold back small sobs.

“We’ll just leave you two alone.”

Jack turned his head and thanked Lara with a slight smile. He broke the hug with Signe and sat down where he was before, but facing away from the table. Signe did the same.

They sat in silence for a moment, but Jack’s mind was all but silent. Swimming with thoughts about how she was doing, how he would tell her about all that’s happened, about how he doesn’t remember some things. But he couldn’t talk right now. He just couldn’t believe that she was here. It wasn’t his imagination.

He placed his hand to her cheek and she leaned into his touch, still wiping tears from her eyes. Signe was the first to speak.

“How’ve you been doing?”

“I’m not sure, actually…”

Signe furrowed her brows. She placed a hand on his knee and leaned forward. “What do you mean? Have you noticed any improvement with… you know?”

He shook his head. “Nothing…”

It wasn’t good. He should have told Megan from the start, but he didn’t and he still wasn’t sure why. It could have been out of fear, but he constantly questioned what he would have been afraid of. Afraid of hurting others, afraid of hurting himself, afraid of seeming totally out of his mind. He couldn’t place the fear, no matter how much he wanted to.

“Seán.”

He hadn’t heard that name in a while, so it felt foreign to him. But it also brought him home, with her.

The kiss brought him out of his thoughts. It was warming, calming, easing the silent war raging inside of Jack’s head. He imagined the days where it was just him and her, Seán and Signe, sitting at the table drinking eggnoffee and green tea with their Christmas tree sitting in the other room, filling the place with the smell of pine, the smell of Christmas. He imagined the nights where he and her were sitting on the couch watching movies and cracking jokes about them. He remembered the smile she always held when she looked at him and the way she made him smile. Home is where the heart is, and his home is anywhere when it’s with her.

She pulled away, staring into his eyes while he stared back. The moment was ruined by one of the nurses calling for the end of Visiting Hours. Signe stood up and Seán with her. They hugged again before they had to leave each other for a while once more. He just couldn’t wait to see her again, even before she had even left.

“Tell the doctor.” she ordered. She held a stern look in her eye, and he knew that if he didn’t follow orders, he’d get a talking to.

It wasn’t like he was going to lie to her.

They said their goodbyes and the residents were sent off into their rooms, and that was when he realized he never told her about the scars or of the events that happened earlier that day. Then again, she did show up late to visiting hours so they didn’t have a lot of time to talk, but he’d tell her later. For now…

Seán needed to have a conversation with the very sweet Dr. Allen.


	8. Seán?

When Megan walked into his room, Seán had pulled back his sleeve and was running his fingers along the scars that covered his skin. His had was shaking and his whole body was rigid. She stepped up to him and gently took hold of his wrist. She pulled his sleeve down and laid his hands flat on his lap as he stared into her eyes, though he broke the stare when she sat down.

“Okay, Jack, how’re you-”

“Name my alternate personalities.”

Megan was taken aback by Seán’s sudden statement. “E-Excuse me?”

“Name my alternate personalities.” he repeated.

Megan thought about questioning him, but decided against it and did her best to remember them off the top of her head. “Um, okay. Chase, Schneep, Jackson, Marvin, Jackieboy.”

As soon as Megan stopped talking, Seán placed his head in his hands. He rubbed his eyes and had to prevent his shaking hands to dig them out of his skull. He wanted to tear out his own vocal chords, rip out his ear drums, he wanted to continue clawing at his own skin, but he held his hands on his lap, nearly needing to place them under his legs, trapping them between his legs and the bed.

“Jack?”

Megan jumped him out of his trance.

“There’s one more I never told you about…”

Megan was taken aback. Why would he have not told her about this? How has she not met him yet? How did he manage to keep this personality from her.

“Jack… Why-”

“Why haven’t I told you about him?”

Megan nodded.

Then, Seán’s mannerisms changed. Where his hands were before on his lap, they were now clasped together as he leaned on his knees. He had been gnawing his tongue and gums, but now he was full on biting, drawing blood and letting it drip from the sides of his mouth; it was getting caught in his teeth. He gained an unhinged look in his eye, running his hand through his mass of green hair on his head, making it messier than before. He stood up, towering over her.

Instinctively, she stood up too. By now, she had noticed the blood falling from his mouth. She backed away when he stepped closer until he had her backed against the wall. She knew something was wrong. He had not said a single word. Just… smiling and stepping forward.

He placed a hand beside her head on the wall and leaned down, narrowing his eyes and releasing a long sigh. He bowed his head and Megan took her chance to duck under his arm that had blocked her view of the doorway. She pressed the button just on the edge of the doorway, calling for security, though she had no idea how long it would take for them to get here.

Seán giggled. It was disturbing and high-pitched. He stumbled back, wrists tightly pressed to his forehead, then moved them to his temples. His face was going back and forth between terrified and deranged. It was like Megan was watching a man snap and fall into insanity right in front of her.

He suddenly lunged forward and gripped the collar of her shirt. She yelped in surprise, trying to turn away from his wide, crazed eyes. She knew the blood and saliva was dripping onto her scrubs, but she was too afraid for her life to even care about bloodstains right now. She swung her leg back and it collided with the door.

“That won’t work sweetie~” his unbalanced tone between high- and low-pitched sent a chill down her spine. His voice was gravelly and it kept her frozen in his hand.

He leaned in closer and Megan could just smell the blood every time he opened his mouth. “Wh-Who are you…?” Her voice trembled and it seemed hilarious to “Seán”.

Center of balance all over the place, he fell back, landing in a wide stance, then losing his balance and landing on the floor, facing the ceiling, chuckling all the way. He looked as if he was ready to make a snow angel.

“I’m hurt.” he breathed. “Good ‘ol Jackaboy never told you about me?” Manic laughter filled the room.

Security finally filled the room. Megan had fallen to the floor, trembling and fidgeting with her hands in her lap. “Seán” was silent on his back and he seemed calm. He didn’t protest or fight back when the guards picked him up off of the floor. They inspected him and saw that his eyes were glazed over and his face held an unreadable expression.

They led him from the room, towards the white padded room again. At first, “Seán” walked along with them, but slowly started to let his legs go limp to the point where the guards were dragging him along. His lips were parted and his eyes empty but darting around like he had never seen this place before.

What had shocked the guards was a girl watching from the sidelines. She shoved her way past them and made them drop “Seán,” as they weren’t expecting her to intervene.

“Jack? C’mon Jack, talk to me!”

A sick grin was spread across his features and he looked up at her from the floor. She visibly winced at his smile, the blood practically pouring from his mouth now.

He tackled Lara and pinned her to the ground. His laugh sounded more like the hiccups of crying when he placed his forehead on Lara’s collarbone. After a few moments, he lifted his head and leaned forward, centimeters away from her features.

“The Jack you speak of is gone.” he snickered.

“Seán” looked like he was about to say something else as his hand inched towards Lara’s throat, but he was thrown off of her. When he sat up, he spotted Alan, a bit of blood on his fist. He looked worried, but his fist was shaking and his teeth were clenched.

“Jack, what the fuck is wrong with you!?” Alan blurted. He helped Lara up and pushed her behind him.

“Seán” didn’t have time to say anything before the guards intervened, pulling Alan and Lara away. As one moved towards “Seán,” though, he threw a punch and stood up, stumbling a bit.

He placed one hand over his eye and stared at the floor. The style of his movements seemed to change every other second. He was shaking, eyes shivering, borderline sobbing, then his fists were clenched over his face, his eyes wide and the grin reappearing on his face.

He suddenly slammed his head into the wall behind him. Hard. Blood was left behind. The guards managed to grab him and prevent him from doing it any more. They injected him with something and as he was passing out, he just chanted the same thing until it was incoherent mumbling.

“I should die. I should die. I shud jus’ d-”

Megan was watching from “Seán”’s doorway, recording everything onto a sheet of paper on her clipboard, despite other doctors’ protests.


	9. It's Only Me

“Dr. Allen!”

Megan turned around and saw Lara, Alan, Brandon, and Willow racing in her direction and skidding to a stop. “Doc, c’mon, give us the news about Jack.” Alan begged.

“I’m not at liberty to say at this time but-”

“Just tell us the basics. Is he alright? What’s happening with him?” Willow was shaking and it was fairly obvious by the shudder in her voice that she was on the verge of crying.

Megan sighed and complied. “Follow me to my office.”

The four patients followed Megan into her office and she locked the door behind them. They wanted details? She was gonna give them details. “We don’t know what’s wrong.”

“What do you mean?” Brandon’s voice was stern and it was scary, at an understatement.

“Jack is unstable and we quickly determined that he hadn’t told us everything about his condition. We only found out about Anti only four days ago, right before he went to the padded room.”

“Hold up, Anti? Who’s that?” Alan sounded not even half as intimidating as Brandon, but he tried.

Megan rubbed her face in her hands. “Right, you don’t know about him…”

“Who the hell is ‘Anti’!?” Lara hadn’t spoken until now. Alan rubbed her shoulders to help her calm down. That always helped her calm down when she was starting to have an episode.

“Jack has different personalities, as you already know. When he was first admitted, he told us about Jackieboy Man, Marvin the Magnificent, Dr. Schneeplestein, and Chase Brody, or JB, Marvin, Schneep, and Chase as we’ve come to know them. A week later, right before he was first put into the padded room, a new personality came to light, which I assume you haven’t met. Jackson Daniels. Well it is my understanding that Anti has been there the whole time and has somehow… manipulated Jack’s thoughts in a way.” Brandon looked as if he was about to speak, but Megan cut him off with the raise of her hand. “We don’t know how he does it.” That seemed to answer his question.

“He’s erratic and severely mentally unstable at this time. We still have yet to reach his girlfriend to inform her of this and persuade her to give us any details about helping him. Right now, we have him on medication that we’ve rotated out once so far after a lack of results. If nothing changes, we’ll change his medication again tomorrow.”

“We could go in and try to talk to him.” Willow suggested. That’s what they were all thinking, but Willow was the first to build up the courage to pop the question. Alan had come close.

“Don’t be ridiculous, you-”

“Dr. Allen! At least let us try!”

Megan sighed again. “Oh boy, you four are persistent.”

They eagerly waited for an answer.

“Alright. I’ll bring it up with the other doctors and I’ll see what I can do.” As she was leaving her office and they started to celebrate, she turned back. “And call me Megan.” Then she was off.

*****

He felt trapped in his own mind.

On the floor, against the wall, head parallel with the ground and perpendicular with his spine. His lips parted slightly, arms limp at his sides and legs stretched out into a V in front of him. His sweat soaked bangs hung in clumps in front of his eyes that stared at a wall, at nothing. He saw nothing, he heard nothing, he felt nothing.

A faint beeping, the release and unlocking of the door, and yet he didn’t move, barely breathed. His eyes didn’t shake from the empty wall he seemed so keen on watching.

His wrist was grabbed and his first contact with human warmth in days felt strange. Uncommon. Dangerous. Worthy to kill. The warmth was replaced by the touch of something cold and the jingling of metal met his ears. It was so loud. Finally, his eyes shifted, and he saw something other than white. Something rather pinkish.

“Jack?”

He felt as if they were screaming in his ears. Their voice bounced off the walls and came at him from every direction, from every angle, attacking his eardrums. His head snapped vertical and he brought it to his cuffed hand, since it wouldn’t go to his head. He slammed them over his ears and shut his eyes. “So loud. So loud. So loud.” he whispered almost endlessly.

His eyes snapped from figure to figure, so dry he couldn’t tell one shape from another. He was scared. He was told to be scared of someone. Anyone. Everyone. He did what he was told. He always did what he was told.

It was silent. Sudden, total silence, but the figures were still there. Were they hallucinations? He was tired of hallucinations. What were you supposed to do to deal with hallucinations.

Swipe at them. Strangle them. What if they’re real? They could be real. _Kill them._

He blinked rapidly. Lara, Alan, Brandon, Willow, all staring back at him, concern splashed over their faces a multitude of times. He was okay. I am okay. You are okay.

You are not okay. You are in danger. They are the danger.

No they’re not. They’re friends, friendly friends who only want to be friends.

They’re here to hurt you, not help you. You’re in danger. Get them away.

“Friends, not friends, danger, not danger, hurt me, help me, I am okay, I am not okay.”

They were glancing at each other. What were they doing? Planning what they should do next? It’s probably bad. You’re in danger.

No, it was silent. None of them can communicate silently. They’re not planning anything.

“Lara.”

She looked up and into his eyes, and he looked back. He was looking for something. A hint of hostility.

“Alan.”

He looked up and into his eyes, and he looked back. He was looking for something. A hint of mischief.

“Willow.”

She looked up and into his eyes, and he looked back. He was looking for something. A hint of pity.

“Brandon.”

He looked up and into his eyes, and he looked back. He was looking for something. A hint of dishonesty.

He found no hint of hostility in Lara, no hint of mischief in Alan, no hint of pity in Willow, not hint of dishonesty in Brandon.

Why trust them anyway?

“Pathetic.”

Seán’s four friends were taken aback by the abrupt statement.

“You’re all so pathetic.” he giggled.

“We want to speak with Jack.” Brandon stated bluntly.

“Aw, they care about him. They care about you Jackaboy. They just don’t know…”

He leaned forward and placed his forehead on the ground, his free left hand his only source of balance. Then he looked up.

“It’s only me.”


	10. True Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been an eternity but here I am with Ch. 10.
> 
> Let's hope the next few don't take as long as this one did...

They were pulled out of the room when Seán became capricious. He began twitching, jerking his head left and right and choking out frenzied laughs as he started pulling at his own skin. He had actually reached for Lara and nearly grabbed her. He had managed to grip her hair and pulled out a few strands. She was now holding her head and standing close to Alan as they stood with Brandon and Willow just outside of the padded room, Seán being contained and put into a straight jacket so he couldn’t hurt himself…

Or others.

Guards, who had come to help with Seán but their assistance was not needed, guided the four patients toward Megan’s office. They stepped in, but the doctor wasn’t in. Brandon and Willow took two chairs in the center of the room while Alan and Lara took the couch against the wall. Lara placed her legs perpendicular over Alan’s and held onto his torso. Alan just stroked her back. Willow and Brandon spoke quietly to each other.

Five minutes turned into ten, then twenty, then thirty, before Megan finally faintly opened the door with an expression that softened once she saw the four patients. Lara had fallen asleep and was woken up by Alan shaking her gently.

“Oh, thank the lord. You’re all okay.”

“Were you watching?” Brandon asked, his voice barely audible. The experience had really affected him negatively.

“No, but I heard what happened. I had to go in and speak with Jack to see if I could do anything.”

“And how, exactly, did that go?” There was a grogginess to Lara’s voice and her eyes were half-lidded.

“He was switching between himself and Anti at an irregular rate. It seemed to really put strain on his brain. We ended up having to sedate him.” Megan disliked the last part, but it was for his health. He wasn’t hurting himself, but he could have.

“So, you don’t know what to do?”

Megan shook her head. “I need to get Jack out of his own head without being interrupted, but Anti prevents that everytime I’m in the same room as the guy.”

Willow had her head down in thought, Alan only worried about keeping Lara calm as she thought of ways to help, and Brandon was lost for ideas.

Then, Willow spoke up. “What about his girlfriend?” She had everyone’s attention. She turned around in the chair to face Megan. “What if we brought her here? Maybe her being with Jack would help keep ‘Anti’ at bay?” She used vocal quotes when she spoke the alternate personality’s name.

Megan tapped her chin in thought, then raised her finger towards Willow. “That could work… It could help us understand his condition as well, which would allow us to produce a medication that would specifically work for him. We just, need permission from him so we can use the experimental medication on him. Which his girlfriend could help with as well if he’s not so willing at first.” She was speaking mostly to herself. “Oh! You four need to get back to your daily activities. If I keep you any longer I could get in trouble.”

Megan led the four patients off to the common room where everybody else was, then went off to find the sign in sheet from the week or two prior so she could contact Signe.

~~~

Megan must have forgotten that they had Signe on call at all times, because the Danish woman picked up the phone immediately, as if she had Megan’s contact in her phone and on speedial if need be. Nonetheless, she was here within the hour.

She was led into the room where Seán was being held, and she almost let out a sob at the sight of her boyfriend: laying in the corner with his head in the angle and a straight jacket containing his arms within it’s cloths. His eyes were closed, breathing deep but exhaling quickly.

A guard would be placed outside the door if Signe needed to call for help, but she couldn’t prevent the nervous chill that spread down her spine and to her limbs that prevented her from moving.

“Why’re ya standin’ there, sweet pea?” the man hummed in a gravelly tone. That was _not_ Seán.

Finally, Signe brought up the courage to move towards the probably-too-relaxed figure and sit cross-legged in front of him. She said nothing, shoving the fear down; Far, far down. She looked up into his eyes, but said nothing.

He let out a light chuckle, tilting his head to the side, a smile stretching on his face as his eyes narrowed. “Aw,” he purred. “da wittle kitty is scawed.” His tone didn’t have the effect he expected.

She smiled…

Why did she smile?

What is she planning?

“Hey, you can’t be mysterious. That’s my job.” he growled, but it didn’t come out as threatening as he would have hoped.

Again, she didn’t move. She just stared; glancing from one eye to another, examining every feature. His well-kept facial hair that contrasted to the mess atop his head. The wide yet pointedness of his nose. She couldn’t help but widen her smile when she spotted a hint of a blush on the man’s cheeks. Though this man didn’t act like her Seán, it was him. Everything she loved about him. Even Anti had some aspects of Seán he probably didn’t even realize. Seán and Anti held the same expression whenever they were confused, and she knew the face all too well.

She inched closer, and Anti wanted to inch backwards, to get her away. She was planning something. That smile… She had to be planning something. Anything. Nobody smiled like that in a situation like this, _if_ they were exposed to a situation like this. She inched closer again, and Anti wanted to move back again. Unnatural. Not okay. Who was the mentally unstable one here? Him or her?

She saw something in his eyes change, and his expression softened, and somehow she knew. She knew that warm look Seán would give her when they were sitting alone at home. The look he gave her whenever he was stressed or anxious that people wouldn’t like something new he was trying out. That look of fear that faded away whenever he saw her.

She pressed their foreheads together, then their lips. She cupped his cheek, stroking his cheekbone for a few moments, then pulling away. She couldn’t help from tears falling from her eyes and another, different smile spreading across her face.

“This would be less awkward if I wasn’t in a straight jacket.”

She connected their temples with a laugh. She wanted to be in his embrace, feel him bury his face in her neck, taking her in, the woman he loves and hasn’t seen in a week.

“Seán?” she asked, pulling back.

He looked at her expectantly.

“The doctors want to help you, but they need your permission for this.”

There was that confused expression again, so she elaborated.

Brows furrowed in thought, he took a second to reply. “If it’ll bring me back home to you sooner, than I’m all for it.” Another thing she loved: That big, toothy smile.

“If they don’t work, they could make your condition worse, and it still could be a while.”

“It’ll be longer if I don’t do it.”

She smiled and nodded. Pecking him on the lips and promising to be back soon, she got up and left.


	11. Update

Hey. I'm not gonna be updating this. At first, it was because I couldn't figure out how to word it. Now I just straight up don't want to write it. I hope y'all enjoyed it thus far!

But hey, it's not the end of the world! I'll keep this account in case I want to write a new fanfic, most likely for a different fandom, but if you want to see me continue to write, go to my Tumblr!

i-am-moxy.tumblr.com.

I'll be posting original works (the past few have been thrillers) so if you enjoy that, come check it out! I'm also open to requests, so feel free to send me some. Requests are always open! Until there's too many to keep up with, then I'll close them. But that's a long ways away, and I probably won't even reach that point, but I'll still write!

Thank you for all the kind words and patience for this story, but I just can't update it. Here's the gist of what was going to happen:

For a few months, Seán is given different forms of medication. Since his condition is unique, they don't know what to give him. He and Signe gave consent, however. He starts out in serious pain, he hits his head on things, ends up needing to be chained up to prevent harm to himself. Just an overall bad time, and Signe is there with him for every minute. Lara, Brandon, Willow, and Alan ask Dr. Allen how Seán is doing, and she doesn't hold back from the truth. Eventually, the doctors get the medication right, and they save the formula. Seán's brain is empty, and kind of lonely, but he doesn't let that prevent him from his alternate personalities. He puts them into characters that he displays on his channel, and sometimes he refrains from his medication so they can act out what he wants themselves. They have a good time doing so, and this prevents Anti from doing any harm. Due to Jackson's shy nature, he didn't appear until later. But once he did, his confidence boosted from all the love he was given. Seán and all of his brain friends revel with all the attention they're given and they sometimes brainstorm together and scroll through Tumblr to get ideas for the next video. Signe was informed of what Seán does, and believed she was okay with it, but, in the end, they split. The now split couple was sad, but there were no hard feelings and they still keep in touch, checking in with each other once in awhile. Seán, overall, is happier.

The end.

There we go! See y'all on Tumblr!


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